The Role of Ethiopian Orthodox Priests in Promoting Vaccines
In the past, Ethiopia’s Amhara region, located in the north near Sudan, has benefited from measures that included pairing community medical workers with religious leaders on community health drives. Ethiopian Orthodox priests are respected for their collaboration with health organizations to spread awareness and immunization campaigns.
This years-long strategy aims to strengthen the influence of community health workers in Ethiopia by taking advantage of the powerful position that religious leaders have. With the assistance of priests, for example, vaccinations reduced the severity of the pandemic's adverse effects and were essential in the Amhara region's fight against the coronavirus disease.
In Ethiopia, where religion is practiced by almost 97% of the population, religious leaders occupy prominent roles in society. It is often known that religious leaders hold prominent positions in society and, because of the strength of their followings, frequently wield significant influence over both state and non-state actors. As a result, interaction with religious leaders is essential since they are recognized as gatekeepers and have a big say in the attitudes and actions of their members.
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Ethiopia began systematic immunization in 1980. Researcher Tariku Nigatu claims that the country has made significant strides toward raising vaccination coverage. The basic vaccination coverage increased from 14.3% to 44.1% between 2000 and 2019. By 2025, vaccine coverage is predicted to be 53.6%, which means there will be a big difference between the actual aim of 90% and the current coverage.
Father Leam has made the most of the social influence his position has given him by advocating for the need of believing reliable sources when seeking information on vaccines, such as health authorities and medical professionals or by assisting in the negotiation of vaccine providers' access to areas of the region that are riven by violence.
However, he has also advocated for vaccinations in a far more personal setting — utilizing his position as a spiritual advisor to speak with individuals one-on-one about a very materialistic form of salvation.
Despite religion cited as one of the contributing factors to vaccine hesitancy. Nigatu said, they are other factors.
“Contrarily, vaccine hesitancy is influenced by a wide range of interrelated causes, ranging from personal anxieties such as lack of information, anxiety, or fear to more systemic problems like mistrust of the public or medical systems,” Nigatu said.
At the same time, Father Lealem Getahu has been one of the most notable Orthodox priests. He has called to assist his people spiritually has also led him to educate them about the significance of safety and health scientific interventions.
Immunization has made a substantial contribution to public health, including the eradication of diseases like smallpox, and most recently, cholera. Locals know Father Lealem, a 65-year-old Ethiopian Orthodox Church priest who serves as the deputy head of the Amhara Religious Institutions Council, as a fervent vaccine supporter.
Father Lealem has set a good example for others to follow. He was among the first religious leaders and medical professionals in the community to receive the COVID-19 vaccine when it was first made available . Similarly, he and a few of his clerical colleagues offered to take an oral cholera vaccine in front of a group of media representatives when they were distributed late in the previous year to contain an outbreak.
Vaccine reluctance is often connected to faith. Despite medically sound and scientifically verified information and data, people's attitudes to vaccinations might be influenced by their religious beliefs, leading to reactions such as vaccine hesitancy.
Concerns have been expressed over the COVID-19, namely with the possibility that religious communities could be the source of false information and unproven theories that contest the efficacy of such vaccinations. Thus, there has been a growing body of studies in global health highlighting the significance of faith leaders’ roles in resolving vaccination reluctance.
Understanding the performance of the existing immunization program and contextual obstacles is crucial to influence immunization policies and programs, especially in light of the ongoing conflicts and political unrest in Ethiopia. Amhara has experienced phases of armed conflict for much longer; it has been a war zone since April 2023.
The trust that exists between a worshipper and their spiritual father has proven to be a stable link even in the midst of difficulty. An opportunity that the Amhara Regional Religious Institutions Council, an alliance of seven regional religious institutions, realized could be leveraged against contagious disease, which often thrives in war, is why many Ethiopian Orthodox Church members attend regular monthly meetings.
Andreas Niketa, an expert on religion, said: “Religious leaders are respected in the communities and have access to speak more with the people on sensitive issues, including those concerning to health.”
Amhara Public Health Institute is largely responsible for the impetus behind the efforts in the region. APHI has held bilateral discussions with the Amhara Regional Religious Council in an effort to increase awareness among religious leaders and involve them in the drive.
In the Amhara region, the importance of religion has changed such that, in contrast to earlier times when people placed greater faith in the healing properties of holy water, pilgrims now embrace vaccinations and have grown to trust medical facilities.
Calvin Manika is an award-winning international journalist based in Zimbabwe.